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The X Files

@murder-cockroaches

This is weird

A Revelation

Okay, deep breath. I know what I'm about say isn't going to win me any friends in the X-Files fandom (and I'll probably lose more than a few) but it's time I be true to myself.

I've had this feeling bubbling up for a while that I've been trying to suppress because I know it's not a popular opinion but I figure now is as good a day as any to let everyone know....I am a noromo. I don't think Mulder and Scully are a good match. I just like the show for the scary stories and Chris Carter's genius plot.

Wow, just writing that gives me so much relief. I know I've been reblogging shippy gif sets and writing MSR fics but recently it's started to feel hollow. I'm so excited to live my truth as a born-again noromo.

If you like any of my fic, consider saving it now because I'll probably be taking it down and replacing it with stories that are more aligned with how I view the series now. I'm telling you, the ideas have just been FLOWING since I freed myself to write what I truly feel. I have two snippets I'll post here just as a taste of what's to come.

Here's an alternate take on the Amor Fati ending, and one for the Memento Mori hallway scene: AMOR FATI ALTERNATE ENDING

When Mulder opens the door to his apartment, bandaged head barely hidden under a New York Yankees cap, Scully feels nothing but professional respect. He has been her coworker for seven years after all. 

“Scully, what are you doing here?” He asks. “Actually, I was just getting dressed to come see you but I... I couldn't find a tie to go with my victory cap.” 

She knows he doesn’t really mean he was going to come see her, but rather come to the office where she also happens to work. 

If he were her romantic love interest and not just a coworker, Scully would consider taking his cap off and playfully tugging at his tie, but that would be completely inappropriate. They are just professional coworkers afterall. 

“Diana Fowley was found murdered this morning,” Scully tells him. Since Diana was the love of his life, she wanted to tell him this in person as soon as possible instead of in an official FBI memo as she originally planned. It does cross the line of professionalism, showing up in his personal space like this, but she knows how much Diana meant to him. Unlike herself, who is just a coworker to him.

“Thanks for letting me know, Agent Scully,” Mulder says, sadly. Diana was the love of his life afterall.

“Of course, Agent Mulder,” Scully says. She thinks about shaking his hand but instead just hands him the paperwork she brought with her. “Please make sure to file this PTO request for your brain surgery in a timely manner. Have a nice afternoon.”

She turns and walks away. 

**

MEMENTO MORI ALTERNATE HALLWAY SCENE

After retrieving Agent Scully’s ova from the Lombard Research Facility, Mulder decides it would only be polite and professional to let her know what he’s found. He returns to the hospital where he’s greeted by a stern nurse.

“Can I help you sir?” She asks.

“I'd like to see my professional work colleague, Agent Dana Scully. She’s a patient here,” he says.

“Are you family? Her husband?” 

“Oh no,” Mulder laughs. “I’m just her professional coworker.”

“Well then you’ll have to come back in the morning. Visiting hours are over.” 

Mulder nods. That makes sense. Why would he visit his totally platonic coworker in the middle of the night? He feels silly for even considering it now. 

“Thank you,” he says politely to the nurse. “I’ll return at a more appropriate hour for someone just visiting a colleague.” 

He turns and leaves.

My mom keeps saying that Mulder and Scully don’t seem like they have any romantic feelings for each other and, to me, that’s the biggest evidence that they’re lesbians.

I know it's been said a million times before but I still can't get over how elevated the x files' use of dialogue is compared to so many other network tv shows. Mulder and Scully are just so smart. They are intelligent and articulate and when they're together their verbal interactions have this push and pull like a choreographed dance. There's this underlying delight they both have at being able to converse with someone else at their level, even in moments where they are frustrated with each other, and that delight is shared by the viewer.

I know I keep saying I miss Mulder while watching S8 and I do, but more than ever I miss Mulder and Scully’s conversations and bantering and camaraderie and repertoire as they solved cases!! It really is unlike any other. 

@honourablepranksinatra has a lovely post about Mulder and Scully’s dialogue on x files calling it a choreographed dance that I think about often. (She’s so right, it really is like watching paired ice skaters or ballroom dances!!!) 

And it’s never been more palpable to me how much msr’s matched wits was truly what made the show for me! Don’t get me wrong, I do like Doggett and he definitely isn’t a bad partner, but sometimes the conversations Scully and Doggett have about cases, just don’t hit the same at all. 

I went back to rewatch some scenes from previous seasons, just to be like is it just the nostalgia that’s making me feel this, but no!!! Even when they disagree, even when they are at odds, the sheer spark and energy and gumption they are able to converse at!!!! Like my god you can really tell that they’ve met their match. 

And as someone that is driven by curiosity and a need to understand the world, their dynamic is soo refreshing and honestly really sexy. Like Scully just dropping in cryptomnesia as an explanation and Mulder jumping in with his own take on it. Ugh!!! Those are the kind of conversations that fill my soul with good energy. 

Anyway, I miss them together sooo much, and I think I’m going to spend today watching YouTube compilations and fanvids as I reflect on more of my s8 thoughts. post-script: actually my username was inspired by their opposing views, bc it's about opposing truths co-exisiting within a system (i was reading about the concept for PhD work and all i was thinking about while researching was msr lmao)

*writes and deletes multiple paragraphs about a popular Scully HC that I hate multiple times*

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

HE THOUGHT HE WOULD NEVER SEE HER AGAIN SO HE KISSED HER EVEN THOUGH IT WASNT REALLY HER AND HE KNEW SHED PUNCH HIM BUT HE WAS SURPRISED IT WAS THE WRONG HAND BECAUSE HE KNOWS HER DOMINANT HAND. AND THEN HE’S SO TOUCHED THAT SHE BELIEVED HIM. AND HE TELLS HER HE LOVED HER JUST LIKE THAT??? AND SHE THINKS HE’S DELIRIOUS BUT SHE SMILES ANYWAY I FUCKING HATE THIS SHOW.

I believe the direction DD meant to give here was

“Scully giggles like Gillian”.

“It seems to me that the best relationships, the ones that last, are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with.”

-Dana Scully (X-Files)

scully is truly one of the characters most near and dear to my heart.

she's a navy brat. a middle child to a distant father. a genius. she rewrote einstein at age 23. she is a doctor and a scientist and she's wrestled with god, but never stopped wearing the cross necklace from her mother. she's jealous and territorial. she likes rules and still breaks them with regularity.

she will not discuss her emotions unless it's under 50 layers of metaphor, but she also cannot hide her feelings, so she sits there, visibly moody. she is a terrible liar. she falls asleep easily. she can and will kill someone, but she's such a good shot that she usually doesn't need to- she can put a bullet right in your collarbone and call an ambulance instead.

she spouts disconcerting facts about bugs and decomposition and genetics and saints without blinking. she once autopsied a guy and then ordered his last meal for dinner. she can cure alien viruses. she wants the real cream cheese on her bagel and something sweet to drink. how could you not love her.

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